I.     Current Themes in Majority / Minority Relations

B.     Introduction: Economic Inequality is the Essence

The purpose of this course is to explore issues that involve minorities in general. It is not intended to address specific minorities. Any presentation like this one should address material that it applies to all minority/majority relationships. This presentation assumes that all minorities share certain characteristics. It does not matter whether we are talking about the relationship between the Protestants and the Catholics in Northern Ireland or the relationship between the Chinese and the Moslems in Malaysia. Economic inequality is the major common characteristic of all minority groups. Many civil rights leaders have ultimately come to embrace economic injustice as the crucial issue.

II.     Emphasis and Approaches of the Course

A.     The Dynamics of Race and Ethnic Relations

While the focus of the course is on the U.S., the basic objective of the course is to understand the dynamics of race and ethnic relations. This inevitably leads one to have to consider other societies (Farley, 2000:4-5).

B.     Analysis and Explanation

We will not merely describe the patterns of race and ethnic relations. We want to know "why race relations exist as they do." In order to understand and deal with problems related to race and ethnicity, one has to understand the origins of the problems and the social forces that allow them to persist.

C.     From the Individual to Society

We begin with the individual and with what might cause an individual to be prejudice and to discriminate. We then move toward a structural account of race and ethnic relations which looks at the character of political and economic structures.

III.     Basic Concepts in Majority/Minority Studies

A.     What is a Race?

Farley (2000:6) describes a race as a group of people who shares similar physical characteristic. Note however that as a biological concept, the term race is almost meaningless.  Racial categories are creations of societies, not biology.   We are concerned about race, not because of some innate in born characteristics, but because people attach meanings and values to physical differences.

1.     Racial Group

Some social scientists make the distinction between race and racial group. For example, an Eskimo girl raised in a white American family in the South, never exposed to Eskimo culture or society, would be considered white by racial group and Eskimo by race.

2.     Racial Formation

Farley (2000:7) suggests that racial formation is the process that determines who the racial groups are and how the race is understood. It’s a political event.   Although race is usually defined by physical characteristics, these only matter in the context of decisions by society to consider those physical characteristics relevant.   One can take a physical feature (eye color) and literally make that characteristic relevant.

B.     What is an Ethnic Group?

Farley (2000:8) describes an ethic group as a group that shares similar cultural characteristics. There is generally a lot of interaction between members of ethnic groups.  Culture is learned and there fore ethnicity is learned. Here there is no mention of a genetic component.

C.     What is a Majority Group? What is a Minority Group?

Generally speaking, majority/minority designation is determined by race and ethnicity, sex, and physical disability.  To this list, one might also add sexual preference.

Majority Group

The group in society designated as the majority will have more that a proportionate share of wealth, power, and social status in that society.  The majority has more power in society to determine the course of that society.   Decisions made by the majority influence the lives of people who are minority.

Minority Group

A minority is a category of people who lack power, privilege, and prestige in social, political or economic spheres. Minorities must always be understood in relation to others in the social structure. A minority group lacks power, prestige, and privilege in relation to others.  Minority groups are assigned an inferior status in society.  They are unable to achieve their will. They lack resources to support their own interests effectively (Farley, 2000: 10-12).

E.     Racism

Racism is an ideology which considers the unchangeable physical characteristics of groups to be linked in a direct, causal way to their psychological and intellectual functioning, and on this basis, distinguishes between superior and inferior "races. It means that one group "knows" that his or her group is superior in every way to another (Farley, 2000:14).  Racism can be any attitude, belief, behavior, or institutional arrangement that favors one race or ethnic group over another.

1.     Ideological Racism

Ideological racism refers to the belief that some races are biologically, intellectually, or culturally inferior to others. From time to time, these ideologies are elevated to the status of scientific theory (Farley, 2000:14-15).

2.     Scientific Racism

Scientific theory relies on the idea is that science supposedly proves that some groups are innately superior to others. Farley notes that the scientist making the speculation is always a member of the superior race.

Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism is an example which notes that the wealthiest and most powerful groups in society are biologically the most fit (Farley, 2000:14-15).  Not surprisingly, the race of the scientist is the race that is always viewed as superior.

IV.     Women as Minorities

A.     Women are like other minorities in that...

• They lack power relative to men. They do not hold high position and have fewer resources.
• They lack privilege relative to men
• Women lack prestige
• Women are developing a consciousness of themselves as an oppressed category of people with common interests. They are beginning to work together to achieve common goals.

B.     Women are different from other minorities in that ...

• Women generally have better education than other minorities, yet in what they are able to achieve with that education, they are similar to other minorities. In fact, when education is held equal, women suffer more than other minorities.
• Women are actually a numerical majority (in the U.S.) which gives them resources that other minorities don't have. They can vote collectively. Yet they face the same problems of organization and unity that other minorities face.
• They are physically integrated into society.

V.     The Scientific Method

The scientific method is a systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem (Schaefer and Lamm, 1992:35). The following are some components of the scientific method.

A.     Test Ideas

Don't take assumptions for granted. Don't rely on common sense. Don't rely on traditional authority figures.

B.     Evidence must Be Observable

Evidence should be observable because other Sociologists might want to perform the same study in order to verify or refute findings.

C.     Describe How Evidence is Gathered

Any study of society should specify the methods the researcher used to obtain his or her information, the setting (where the researcher conducted the study), and the population (whom they studied). This is done so that other social scientists may test your findings. Social scientists are cautious in accepting the findings of other. Studies are often replicated to verify findings of initial studies.

D.     Theory

A theory is a set of ideas [generalizations] supported by facts. Theories try to make sense out of those facts. Social scientists seldom accept theories as laws. Often they are not considered totally true. Furthermore, the subjects they attempt to explain (i.e., people and social institutions) are variable. Gergen (1982:12) in D'Andrade (p 27) states:

"It may be ventured that with all its attempts to emulate natural science inquiry, the past century of sociobehavioral research and theory has failed to yield a principle as reliable as Archimedes principle of hydrostatics or Galileo's Law of uniformly accelerated motion."

E.     Hypothesis

Because theories are general ideas, social scientists do not test them directly. A hypothesis is a speculative (or tentative) statement that predicts the relationship between two or more variables. It is, in essence, an educated guess. It specifies what the researcher expects to find. To be considered meaningful, a hypothesis must be testable; that is, capable of being evaluated (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 38).

VI.     Basic Statistical Concepts

A.     Measures of Central Tendency: Mean, Median, and Mode

1.     Mean

The mean, or average, is a number calculated by adding a series of values and then dividing by the number of values. For example, to find the mean of the numbers 5, 19, and 27, we add them and divide by the number of values (3). The mean would then be 17 (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 36).

2.     Mode

The mode is the single most common value in a series of scores. For example, if we were looking at the following scores on a ten-point quiz: 10, 10, 9, 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 7, 6, 5, we would determine the mode by observing which score occurred most frequently. Now, the mode would be 7 (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 36).

3.     Median

The median is the midpoint or number that divides a series of values (which are ranked in ascending or descending order). For the quiz discussed above, the median is 8 (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 36).

B.     Rates & Percentages

A percentage is a portion based on 100. Use of percentages allows one to compare groups of different sizes.

C.     Target Populations and Samples

The target population refers to everyone in a group that is studies.   For example, if one wants to know how people will vote in an election, the target population is everyone who is eligible to vote.  How can a researcher study a population as large as that of the United States? The answer is that one cannot study entire populations. Large populations are simply too big. The researcher, therefore, needs to look at a small subset of the population. We call this subset a sample. The trick is to make sure that your sample closely parallels the characteristics of the larger population.

1.     Random Sample

Henslin (1999:126) contends that a random sample is one in which everyone in a population has the same chance of being included in a study. A random sample is necessary if one is going to attempt to generalize the findings in a study to the larger population.

D.     Variables

A hypothesis poses a relationship between two or more aspects of   social relationships.  These aspects are called variables. A variable is a measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different conditions.  Income, gender, occupation, and religion are variables.   Variables may be independent or dependent.

1.     Independent Variables

Independent variables in a hypothesis are those that influence or cause changes in another variable.  In other words, an independent variable is something that is chosen by the researcher to cause a change in another variable.

2.     Dependent Variables

The dependent variables are those variables are believed to be influenced by the independent variable (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992:38).

E.     Correlation

One of the most common research mistakes is to assume that a high correlation between two variables means that one variable (independent) causes some change in another variable (dependent).

A correlation exists when a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable.  The fact that a correlation exists means that the two variables are associated statistically with one another.  However, the mere fact that associations exist, does not necessarily mean that a change in one variable causes a change in another variable. Correlations are an indication that causality may be present.   They do not necessarily indicate causation (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 38).

F.     Spurious Correlations

A spurious correlation is one where the apparent correlation between two variables is actually caused by a third variable (Henslin, 1999:130)

G.     Causal Logic (Cause and Effect)

One of the most common research mistakes is to assume that a high correlation between two variables proves that there is a causal link between them.  In other words, people assume if two variables are related, then obviously one causes the other.

Causality is rather difficult to demonstrate.  How can one tell whether a change in one variable is "causing" a change in another variable?  There are three requirements that must exist before one can begin to think about whether there is a cause and effect relationship.

1.     Temporal order: 

The independent variable has to occur before the dependent variable.

2.     Association (or correlation):   

A change in one variable is associated with a change in the other variable.

3.     Elimination of plausible alternatives:

The researcher has to ensure that the association between the two variables is not caused by a third variable (e.g., there are no spurious correlations). In order to show that one variable cause a change in another variable the scientist has to control for other factors that might be influencing the relationship

4.     Does it make sense?

Finally, there is also an implicit fourth condition.  The causal relationship has to make sense or fit within a theoretical framework (Henslin, 1999:131).

VII.     Methods of Gathering Data

Weber suggested that sociology needs several methods of investigation. The following material provides various benefits and problems associated with four methods of gathering data.

A.     Case Studies (field study)

1.     Description

• Case studies (or field studies) explore social life in its natural setting, observing and interviewing people where they live, work, and play (Kendall, 1998:25).

2.     Advantages

• Its advantages are that the researcher can study individuals in their natural setting (e.g., at home, at work, playing, etc.). Case studies provided volumes of information such that at the end of the study the researcher has a thorough understanding of the individuals involved in the study.

3.     Disadvantages

• Drawbacks to the case study include the fact that social scientists cannot usually investigate many cases because of time constraints. Another problem with the case study is that the results may not be generalizable to the population at large.

B.     The Survey (Interviews)

1.     Description

• The researcher asks questions of the cases face to face or in a questionnaire.

2.     Advantages

• The advantages are that data collection is more systematic (you ask the same questions of every case).
• Because it is systematic and generally more condensed, the researcher can investigate more cases.  Survey research can, in fact, be applied to several thousand (or million) cases.  The U.S. Census begins as a survey of the population.
• Findings may be generalizable to larger populations.

3.     Disadvantages

• When relying on a survey questionnaire, much information is lost. Facial expressions are not recorded. Environmental considerations are missed.
• Furthermore, information can be lost because the interviewer failed to ask the right question.

C.     Experiment

1.     Description

Kendall (1998:26) describes an experiment as a "carefully designed situation (often taking place in a laboratory) in which the researcher studies the impact of certain factors on subjects' attitudes or behaviors."

2.     Advantages

• The experiment offers a high degree of exactness because one can control everything in a laboratory setting.
• Variables can be precisely studied. Natural science uses this approach most often. So does psychology.
• It is easier to determine cause and effect relationships.

3.     Disadvantages

• One disadvantage with the experiment in studying social phenomena is that the environment is contrived. People do not normally carry out their lives in a laboratory setting.
• Ethical issues may also arise when performing experiments on people. The Nazi death-camp experiments represent extreme instances of ethical violation. Even in ordinary university type experiments deception and misinformation are often employed. Many consider these ethical violations.

D.     Existing data

1.     Description

• Existing data includes government records (census), personal documents, or mass communication (published books, the news, movies).

• The Statistical Abstract of the United States is an excellent source of existing data.

2.     Advantages

• The advantages are that data are generally easy to obtain. They already exist and can be found in most university libraries.
• Much existing data are also standardized. Standardization makes it easier to compare one set of data with another.

3.     Disadvantages

• One problem associated with existing data is that the researcher must use the format provided. For example, a researcher studying poverty would be frustrated with the census before 1970 because there was no poverty rate in 1960 and before.